Whilst on Education...

Teachers do get a bum wrap. For a profession that is essentially vital to the technical advancement of the human race and critical for the development of acceptable social behaviour in our children (second behind a child's parents), our governments have really given our teachers hell.

So here is my solution to ensure the teaching profession is reinstated as a meaningful profession.

1. Disband the Teachers Union and replace it with a professional body... say "The Institute of Education Professionals". This body will be more concerned about curricullum's and standards of testing etc rather than salaries and working conditions.

2. Allow teachers free market practices to gain employment. No standardised salaries, no forced placements, no transfer bans etc. If a school needs a teacher, it advertises and the Principal interviews and selects an applicant and a salary is negotiated... just like any other job.

2a) Pay for performance. Good teachers (and there are alot out there) deserve good pay and the opportunity to make a good living. Principals should set targets, review performance against those targets and reward for meeting those targets.

3. Hours. Teachers get criticised by non-teachers for the excessive school holidays and short work day. Teachers counter that by stating they do alot of planning and extra-curricular work. So let it become fact rather than myth. Teachers will get same working conditions as any other person. 20 days a year, sick leave, maternity leave etc. Working hours will be 8:30 to 5:30 like most other jobs. "School" hours will remain the same, but teachers will be employed to do their planning etc rather than have them volunteer their free time after the 3pm school bell. School holidays will be for children, but teachers will have to use their 20 days annual leave in that timeframe to ensure they are present when kids are there. Conversely, teachers should expect higher remuneration.

4) Now the government needs to put some money on the table. Reverse the public/private funding differential. Fund the public system fully. Give Principals proper budgets for them to fund their school and pay their teachers a GOOD wage. Fund school maintenance and redevelopments and ensure that stationary etc is readily available. No need to provide 5 Star schools, just ones that have adequate paper and pens and books and don't leak and have basic air conditioning. Leave Private Schools and the Religious based schools to their own funding networks.

5) Funding will be equal across the board based on school headcounts and not some economically driven socio-economic model that sees rich private schools in Strathfield get funded more than poor schools in Liverpool. Budget equals "x", headcount equals "y" then budget for each school equals x/y multiplied by their headcount. No questions.

Now someone very close and dear to me is a teacher and we disagreed on a number (all?) of these things. I can see that teachers cling to their union as their only lifeline for bargaining a decent living and remuneration.... and yes the government have been dead set pricks about it, but the fact is that it hasn't worked for the last 20+ years. Teachers are derided and under paid and the public system is falling apart.

It's time that both sides think outside the square...